Governor Blasts Security Agents for Leaving Kebbi School 30 Minutes Before Attack

Kebbi State Governor, Mohammed Nasir Idris, has raised serious concerns over alleged security lapses that preceded the abduction of 25 students from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Danko/Wasagu local government area.

He claimed that “credible intelligence from the DSS (Department of State Services)” warning of a possible attack on the school was ignored by security operatives.

The attack, which occurred in the early hours of Monday, reportedly left the school’s vice principal dead and saw 25 female students kidnapped. Three students, however, managed to escape.

Speaking on Monday night after visiting the school, Governor Idris accused unnamed security agencies of undermining his administration’s efforts.

“This is clear sabotage. We got credible intelligence from the DSS that this school was likely to be attacked. DSS further advised that we convene an emergency Security Council meeting, which we did. And the decision was that we would provide round-the-clock protection for the students,” he said.

The governor stressed that he had taken the DSS report seriously, noting that a failure to act on similar intelligence had previously contributed to the December 2020 kidnapping of over 300 students in Kankara, Katsina State. He lamented that although security personnel were deployed to safeguard the school and even spent time interacting with students and teaching them emergency drills, they abandoned the premises just 30 minutes before the attack.

Governor Idris, accompanied by the state’s security chiefs, announced the establishment of a special investigation panel to probe how the kidnappers succeeded despite the DSS intelligence and state security efforts. He confirmed that the DSS state director of Kebbi State will chair the panel, which will also coordinate the safe return of the abducted students.

One teacher who escaped the attack told journalists he was shocked by the turn of events, given the heavy security presence at the school the previous day and the training provided to students and staff on emergency protocols.

“The heavily-armed security men spent the entire night guarding the school. Sadly, for yet-to-be determined reasons, they reportedly left the school before dawn. About 30 minutes after they withdrew, the kidnappers struck, abducting the students,” the teacher had stated.

“I believe it was the accuracy and credibility of the intelligence supplied by the DSS on the school that made Governor Idris appoint their director to head the special committee he set up.

“The good news is that there is sufficient reason to believe that the girls were kidnapped, not killed. With ongoing efforts by the federal and state governments, we are hopeful that they will all be rescued,” he declared.